1955 - 1978 - 2014 | VANITY AFFAIR | ALDO SACCHETTI & RENE CAOVILLA

In February 2014 the brand René Caovilla celebrated the 80th anniversary with two special collections for luxe-retailers Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman.

"The idea was to pay homage to the shoes that have made its name, with the legendary René Caovilla archive plundered for iconic styles and inspiration. The results are breathtaking."Swarovski | Crystal blog | Feb. 2014

Insole label notwithstanding, the two sandals are twins. The International Footwear Museum of Vigevano - where the entire Aldo Sacchetti archive is held - gives 1955 as the production date (see "Stiletto Heel - Charm And Seduction", 2008), while the Caovilla sandal is dated 1978 as per the book "100 Years Of Footwear Industry Along The River Brenta" published in 1998 by A.C.Ri.B. (Brenta Footwear Association).

These sandals are identical in shapes but differ for materials and decoration (Please note the leaf effect on the Sacchetti sandal). Shoe # 1 was only dusted off for the Caovilla celebration while Shoe # 2 was actually reproduced.

So, given all this, we attached the above photographs to an email sent to the brand René Caovilla through their press office:

"…we would like to ask if Aldo Sacchetti ever designed for René Caovilla; if so, we'd like to know more … in order to complete a report to be forward to the International Footwear Museum of Vigevano …"

No replay after a week, so we wrote again and we were told right away to be patient for a few more days. After another week we got an answer well worth the wait:

Good morning,I've been told that between René Caovilla and Aldo Sacchetti there has never been any collaboration.Thank you,

Camilla ClavarinoCaovilla Press Office

Which sounds like a statement made by a lawyer fresh out of school. Still stunned, we wrote again an unanswered email asking if they didn't comment either about the photos or the dates.

"When I want to explain an idea for a shoe, I draw it. The designer is the key figure. Computer aided design is the future, but we still use the last.I'm writing a book where on one page there will be the model and the opposite page will feature the idea where the design come from."